Lateef McLeod2015-03-31T14:28:18-04:00Lateef McLeodhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=lateef-mcleodCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Lateef McLeodGood old fashioned elbow grease.A Chance Meeting With Nelson Mandelatag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.46212582014-01-22T10:14:43-05:002014-03-24T05:59:01-04:00Lateef McLeodhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/lateef-mcleod/
Growing up with the disability of cerebral palsy always made me set apart from my peers. Because of my severe mobility and speech disability I maneuver in a power wheelchair and communicate with an electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. Because I transverse the world in a unique way it had led me to have a desire to advocate for myself and people like myself to have our own voice and our own self-expression. That was why I was so excited to meet Nelson Mandela because he dedicated his life to advocating for the freedom and equality that his people deserved and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

When my parents informed me that I was selected as part of the welcoming committee to greet Nelson Mandela I was extremely excited. I was a nine-year-old who did not know much about South African history and apartheid, but my parents informed me he was one of the main leaders fighting against South African apartheid, which to my mind put him on par with one of my role models, Dr. Martin Luther King. At nine I realized it was a grave injustice for Nelson Mandela to be locked in prison for 27 years since he advocated for all who inhabited the land that his ancestors lived for centuries have the freedom and democracy that everyone deserves in their home country.

I spent over a week preparing what I was going to say to Nelson Mandela. I had my Dad's help with ideas of what to say and with revisions. When I was finished I thought I had an excellent five-minute speech stored in my Touch Talker, at least to my nine-year-old self. I waited with anticipation for the day I would meet the famed Nelson Mandela. When the day came I went with my whole family to Oakland International Airport. I was ushered to the front of a large crowd that gathered on the side where Nelson Mandela's plane was going to dock. When his plane finally came and he appeared with his then wife, Winnie, there was a great cheer from the crowd. I was so nervous I was worried when I finally met this famous high-powered couple I would not be able to push the right buttons on my Touch Talker to speak my prepared speech. But when the time came and both Nelson and Winnie Mandela came up to me I was able to speak the prepared statement to the delight of the couple. I believed Mr. Nelson Mandela smiled after he heard what I said to him. I know for sure that Winnie gave me a hug and a few kisses on the cheek. Although I cannot quite recall what Nelson Mandela said to me, I will remember that encounter for the rest of my life.

After our encounter Nelson Mandela of course led to him becoming president of his nation and helped build a thriving democracy. The way he unified his country with his leadership after decades of racial divisions because of apartheid is definitely outstanding. During the death throws of apartheid the country was ready to tear itself apart, but under Nelson Mandela's leadership he was able to unify the country under one national identity. I would visit South Africa 18 years after my first meeting with Mandela see first hand the populace's acceptance of the country's multicultural heritage as being an integral part of who they are as a nation. This is an enduring part of Nelson Mandela's legacy and I am honored and overjoyed to have met such a phenomenal man that was such a positive influence to his country and to the world.]]>Sins Invalid Finally Coming to the Big Screentag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.38332822013-09-04T17:21:25-04:002013-11-04T05:12:01-05:00Lateef McLeodhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/lateef-mcleod/

After much anticipation, performance project Sins Invalid is now releasing its documentary, entitled simply Sins Invalid. The film showcases its seven years of theatrical accomplishments and personal interviews all frame and lead what Sins Invalid calls disability justice. The 32 minute documentary exemplifies the beauty that Sins creates by putting disability justice in action and being guided by their mission statement of celebrating artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and queer and gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Viewers of the documentary will hear the voices that make Sins come alive on stage and will see how artists with disabilities collaborate to produce the amazing performances. One theme throughout the film is artists expressing their reactions to other people denying recognition of their full humanity, particularly when it comes to expressing their sexuality. What makes Sins Invalid so beautiful as a production is that it creates a space where artists who are typically marginalized or eroticized are instead controlling the terms of debate, the framing and honoring their experiences, their bodies and their sexuality. By doing so on stage, they create a public space of healing, self-acceptance and erotic empowerment.

People with disabilities are usually portrayed one of two ways in the mainstream media. They are either portrayed as the helpless "invalid" who needs pity, or the "supercrip" hero with a disability who overcomes their body's "imperfections" to accomplish an amazing goal that we can all applaud. Sins Invalid rejects this dichotomy that tries to pigeonholes people with disabilities and offers up a fuller picture of the disability experience to its audience. As the co-founder and director of Sins Invalid, Patty Berne, said in the film, "We saw that our creative works around our bodies and our sexuality had no venue. That there was no place where we can celebrate our bodies as beautiful, and disabled and hot. So we decided to start Sins Invalid, a disability justice performance project on disability and sexuality." Since its inception in 2005 the organization has produced five annual major theater performances plus an artist-in-residence performance that all had critical acclaim. Patty Berne led the artistic direction of the film and was key in the editing room. Through these interviews the film's audience acquires a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make a Sins performance. The intersectional lens of disability justice being embodied on stage touched me profoundly in a narrative held together by Patty Berne's accounting of the project.

Through beautiful and thought-provoking performances in the documentary, Sins Invalid , is able to exhibit a wide ride range of experiences, identities and cultures of disabled artists sharing the stage. The documentary gives us a look what some of these artists' insights were in creating stage performances through short in-person interviews spread throughout the documentary. The artists take a risk by overtly discussing their sexuality in a culture where discussing sexuality and disability is taboo or at minimum gets silenced. Their performances make the audience confront their own fears and discomfort with the sexuality of people with disabilities as artists illustrate how it is an integral part of the human experience.

Sins Invalid is set to premier at the Sins Invalid Crip Soiree and Speakeasy event taken place at New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CA on October 11 and 12 at seven p.m. You can get tickets at Brown Paper Tickets and you can receive more information about the event on the event's Facebook Page . If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area I encourage you to come this event and witness disability cinema history.]]>Why the Disability Community Should Be Done With the Republican Party For Goodtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.23818732013-01-02T12:26:58-05:002013-03-04T05:12:01-05:00Lateef McLeodhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/lateef-mcleod/
The articles of the CRPD are available for the public to view at this site. When reading the treaty, most people will think it is reasonable policy that most countries can abide by to protect the rights of people with disabilities, with articles of the treaty stating that countries should be encouraged to raise awareness about people with disabilities and have an emphasis on accessibility for people with disabilities. None of the articles contain anything that will cause a country to have concern, especially a highly developed country like the United States.

The real reason for the Republicans' down vote of the CRPD must be thoroughly analyzed by the disability community if we are to progress politically to improve our social standing. If the Republicans feel they can vote down a treaty that will improve the lives of millions of people with disabilities internationally without any repercussions, then they will have no fear in harming our community again at the next chance for political gain. We already see this with the fiscal cliff debate with Republicans demanding drastic cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, two programs that provide essential aid to many people with disabilities. Their deal with the president might divert another recession, but it will have potential to cause much harm to the disability community.

What the Republicans, led by Senator Rick Santorum, did was to send a clear message to the disability community that they will never represent our goals, interests, or rights. With this vote they made it self-evident that they are a party that does not recognize the voices of people with disabilities as much as they do not recognize the voices of women, ethnic minorities, or people from the LGBT community. This fact is exemplified by their ignoring the pleas of former Republican Senator Bob Dole and current Republican Senator John McCain, who are both disabled, to approve the treaty. Even with both of these former Republican presidential candidates on the Senate floor did nothing to persuade their Republicans to change their vote.

We have clear adversaries in the Republican Party. They have clearly shown that they will throw us under the bus to fulfill their agenda. We have a duty to organize to make sure that agenda is stopped in its tracks.]]>Let's Not Make Home Care Workers Wait Any Longer for Their Rightstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.18477092012-08-31T17:52:00-04:002012-10-31T05:12:02-04:00Lateef McLeodhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/lateef-mcleod/announced a new rule that would guarantee home care workers the right to minimum wage and overtime pay through the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which has excluded them ever since it was passed in 1938. As the president said that day in a White House press release, "The nearly 2 million in-home workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage. They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded."

Public opinion is in his favor. In the public comment period that followed the release of the rule, more than 26,000 comments poured into the U.S. Department of Labor. About 80 percent of them -- more than 20,000 -- were in favor of the new rule.

Some people with disabilities and their advocates have expressed concern about the overtime requirement in the rule. They say paying time and a half will cost too much, so people who currently rely on just one or two workers for 60, 70, or more hours apiece every week will have to cut back their workers' hours and hire an additional worker or two, which they may not want to do.

I have cerebral palsy and have employed home attendants for most of my life. I understand the anxiety some people feel at the thought of finding new workers. It takes time for the workers I employ to learn how I like things done, and even longer for us to establish the kind of trust that makes everything go more smoothly. But I'm convinced that granting workers FLSA's basic labor protections is best for us all in the long run. If I had to rely on just one or two workers who had to work at least 60 hours a week to get by, what would happen to me when to me if one of them got sick, or had a family emergency, or developed a back injury?

Home care workers nationwide average less than $10 an hour. More than a third cannot afford health insurance, and about half are forced to supplement their earnings with food stamps or some other form of public assistance. These conditions contribute to high turnover rates, making it difficult for many people in search of home care to find and keep the workers we need to remain in our own homes and communities, living as independently as possible. That's another reason why it's in the best interests of people like me -- not just the workers themselves -- for home care workers to be paid fairly. Those of us who rely on home attendants need to know we can count on getting consistent, high-quality support and care, and that means making this a job people can commit to for the long term without putting their own health or their family budget in jeopardy.

We're close to making real progress on this front, but we're not there yet. The rule announced by the president last December has not yet been finalized. Whatever the cause of that delay, it is playing into the hands of the for-profit national home care franchises that have been pouring their abundant resources into trying to keep the rule from being enacted.

We the people have weighed in, and we overwhelmingly support respect for home care workers. Please join us in supporting President Obama's commitment to home care workers and asking him to enact the rule soon.